Atomizing nozzles, also called mist heads, are used in connection with misting systems to produce a fog or fine mist. A fluid, typically water, is forced under pressure through the atomizing nozzles to produce the mist. Desirably, the mist is sufficiently fine so that it rapidly evaporates. As the mist evaporates, the general area around the atomizing nozzles becomes cooler. Rapid evaporation prevents people and property located in the mist from getting wet and enhances the cooling effect. Accordingly, misting systems are often used for cooling and for increasing humidity.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional front view of a prior-art atomizing nozzle 20. Prior-art atomizing nozzle 20 is made up of a nozzle body 22 conventionally formed of metal or plastic. Nozzle body 22 conventionally includes a metallic orifice insert 24. Orifice insert 24 has a small orifice 26 through which the fluid passes under pressure to produce the desired fog or mist. In addition, an impeller 28, also called a plunger or poppet, is positioned within a fluid chamber 30 that connects to orifice 26. The action of impeller 28 within fluid chamber 30 fractures the fluid and produces a finer fog or mist.
Orifice 26 is typically formed of a hard metal, such as stainless steel, to minimize the effects of erosion. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments, orifice 26 may be produced directly in nozzle body 22, i.e., nozzle body 22 and orifice insert 24 may be formed as one piece. It will be appreciated, however, that having orifice 26 directly in nozzle body 22 increases the cost and difficulty of machining nozzle body 22.
Conventionally, orifice 26 resides in orifice insert 24. Since orifice insert 24 is small, typically less than 0.2 inch in diameter, machining is expensive and time-consuming.
Orifice insert 24 is typically pressed into place in nozzle body 22 with great force to produce a fluid-tight seal even when the fluid is under high pressure. This requires that orifice insert 24 be of sufficient strength to resist deformation during the pressing process. This, too, increases cost.
Since orifice insert 24 is pressed into the nozzle body with great force, it cannot thereafter be removed for subsequent cleaning of orifice 26 to remove any deposited mineral materials. In time, these deposited mineral materials will eventually completely block orifice 26 and inhibit passage of the fluid. Atomizing nozzle 20 will then no longer be able to produce the desired fog or mist.
Accordingly, conventional atomizing nozzles 20 are expensive to manufacture and become clogged during use. Such clogged atomizing nozzles 20 cannot readily be unclogged, necessitating the purchase and installation of replacement atomizing nozzles 20.
Prior-art atomizing nozzle 20 conventionally has cup-shaped orifice insert 24. That is, orifice insert 24 has a cylindrical shape with an inside wall 32 substantially parallel to a centerline 34. The cup shape provides strength so as to avoid warpage of orifice insert 24 while being pressed into nozzle body 22.
The cup shape of orifice insert 24, while providing strength, adds significantly to fabrication costs. The small size of orifice insert 24 greatly increases the difficulty and care with which orifice insert 24 must be machined and handled.
Additionally, since conventional orifice inserts 24 are cup-shaped for increased strength, nozzle bodies 22 have a considerable length 36 to contain the cup. Such a “deep” body contains a considerable amount of material that serves no function but to accommodate a cup-shaped orifice insert 24. This excess material undesirably increases the mass of nozzle body 22. This increased mass equates to excesses in both the costs of raw materials to produce nozzle bodies 22 and the costs of shipping the finished atomizing nozzles 20.
A need exists, therefore to configure and manufacture an atomizing nozzle at less expense than has been achieved conventionally.